Please Don’t Remember Me - Chapter 7 Part 1. Farewells And Ponytails

It’s been three months since Clara started working at Silver Kawauso. She now could hold a platter with one hand and had improved at pouring beer into a mug. It was worth the effort, even if Greta had to shout at her again and again.

“Table four, please.”

Clara brought out a plate of fried lamb from the kitchen and placed it in front of the men around the table.

“Thank you for waiting!”

“Thank you, Lara!”

“Thank you, Lara! You look beautiful today.”

“Lara, thank you!”

“Your mug is empty. You need a drink to finish your meat.”

“I can’t help it if you say so.”

“I’ll have another one!”

“Lara, another one!”

“Yes!”

Clara raised one hand in response. The language of the common people, which had puzzled her at first, now came easily. She poured the beer into the mugs one after the other and stopped before the foam disappeared, and the empty plates were quickly washed.

“Lara! The food’s ready!”

“Yes!”

The man who brought out the neatly arranged dishes from the kitchen was Mauro, the owner of the restaurant and Greta’s husband. He was a large man with short silver hair with a slightly otter-like face. The name of the shop, “Silver Otter,” was perhaps supposed to be ……, but she hadn’t checked.

“Thank you for waiting! Enjoy your food!”

When she put the food on the table for a couple with a child, the child’s eyes lit up. The restaurant also serves alcohol, but no drunk customers and no bad people, so many families would come here. This was because Greta kept a strict eye on the customers and made sure that everything was in order, which made Clara feel very lucky to be working here.

After the evening’s business, Clara returned to her room on the first floor. There was a short walk from the entrance to the back of the shop, but the regulars always escorted her. They would wait for her until she came up the stairs and waved at them from the window. The regular men, who call themselves “Lara’s Guard”, watch over her in rotation, telling her not to let her guard down just because she lives close to the shop.

‘I’ve always been very lucky. My family loves me, the owner and his wife, and the regulars at the restaurant also love me.’

Her mother always taught her to be grateful and sincere and not to be proud of her status. At the moment she was only benefiting from the virtues her mother had instilled in her. From now on, she has to earn her own trust. Clara tied the ribbon of her apron tightly around her neck and steeled herself.

She cooks her own breakfast and dinner.

In the beginning, she ate dinner with Greta and her husband, but Greta and Mauro would give each other food to taste and talk about the past. In short, they would flirt with each other in front of her, so she decided to cook and eat by herself.

She wonders how old a couple can be when they are like that.

The king had rarely been to the palace since Clara was young, so she had never seen her parents like this. She wonders if His Majesty and Ginevilla would flirt in the palace without being seen.

‘I wonder what my mother thought of them.”

She couldn’t be sure now. Her mother was loyal to Queen Ginevilla, but she had never heard about the King.

***

After the lunch business was over, Clara went outside to change the sign on the shop to ‘Lunch Break’. Then, she saw a woman in a dress that was not suitable for a commoner, holding a parasol and looking at the shop.

“Lady Sofia!”

“Good day to you, Lady Clara.”

“What brings you here?”

“Why, because you wrote to me.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“You really do work here, don’t you? You’re really working, and you’ve settled in surprisingly well.”

“Yes, I’ve cut my hair too.”

“Yes, you look younger. It’s very pretty.”

When Sofia put her hand to her mouth and laughed, her chest shook.

“Would you like to come into the shop? It’s a commoner’s shop.”

“You are hiding your identity, aren’t you? If I go in there, I’m afraid I might cause you trouble.”

It’s true that her dress would make her look out of place in the shop.

“What are you doing here today?”

“Do you know that we were thrown out of the Duke’s house?”

“What?”

“Well, at last. The Duke couldn’t stand us, so he threw us out of the house. But the Duke gave us a large sum of money for our troubles, so we all went back to our parents’ house. The princess was a bit squeamish, though. Aria and Laura were soon picked up by their parents, and I was the last to leave the house today.”

“Oh, how sudden it is!”

“I knew it was coming. I had planned to spend my old age with Lady Clara, but you never know how life will turn out.”

“Yes, …… it is true.”

****